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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. shower — to wash
  3. board — to get on
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. squash — the sport
  7. board — a committee
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — rain
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. press — to push
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. field — a subject
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com